How to remotely administer a printer through a network share when you use Windows XP Service Pack 2 in a workgroup environment

Summary

In a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) workgroup environment, you can configure remote administrative access so that an administrator can manage a printer through a network share. You can configure the "Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts" local policy setting so that a remote administrator must log on to the network share by using local logon credentials instead of by using the Guest account.

In this task

INTRODUCTION

This step-by-step article describes how to permit remote access to a printer through a network share in a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) workgroup environment. To do this, you can set the "Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts" local policy setting to Classic - local users authenticate as themselves. By using this setting, administrators must use local logon credentials to remotely administer the printer when they access the printer through the share.

We do not recommend that you permit remote administrator access by using the Guest only - local users authenticate as Guest setting. If you use the Guest only - local users authenticate as Guest setting and add the Guest user account to the Administrators group, any user who can access your computer over the network can administer your computer.

Access the printer share as a remote administrator

You can use either of the following methods to administer the remote printer.

Method 1

On the computer that you want to remotely administer the printer from, click Start, click Run, type \\Print_Server_Name, in the Open box, and then click OK.

Note Print_Server_Name is the computer name or the IP address of computer that has the shared printer.

When you are prompted, type the user name of an account that has administrative credentials on the print server in the User name box, type the account password in the Password box, and then click OK.

Note If you do not want to type logon credentials to access the printer share, you can create an account on the computer that you want to remotely administer the printer from that has the same user name and password as the account that has administrative rights on the print server. If you log on as that account, you will not have to type credentials when you connect to the printer share.

Double-click Printers and Faxes, right-click the shared printer, and then click Properties.

You now have administrative rights to the printer.

Method 2

You can also use the Run as command to administer the printer if you add the shared printer to the computer that you want to remotely administer the printer from.

To add the shared printer, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type \\Print_Server_Name, in the Open box, and then click OK.

When you are prompted, type the user name of an account that has administrative credentials on the print server in the User name box, type the account password in the Password box, and then click OK.

Right-click the shared printer, click Connect, and then click Yes to install the print driver.

To use the Run as command to administer the printer, follow these steps:

Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.

Press and hold the SHIFT key, right-click the printer, point to Run as, and then click Properties.

Under Which user account do you want to use to run this program?, click The following user.

Type the user name and the password of an account that has local administrative credentials on the print server, and then click OK.